Box making machines



1956 e. w. VON HOFE ET AL- ,75

BOX MAKING MACHINES Filed Sept. 5, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l mix Ema? GEORGE W e/v 055 y EDM/M/KM/OLFF fa -M5 ITTORNEYS Nov. 6, 1956 G. w. VON HOFE ET AL 2,769,561

BOX MAKING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 5, 1951 INVENTORS 650/365 MUM/fine Elm 1W1? I/I/OLFF 14 TTOR NEYS Nov. 6,1956 (5. w. VON HOFE ET AL 2,769,551

BOX MAKING MACHINES Filed Sept. 5, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS Box MAKING MACS Application September 5, 1%1, Serial No. 245,194

23 Claims. (Cl. 216-55) This invention relates to machines of the type in which sheets of paper for use as box coverings, labels, box wraps and the like are applied to articles such as boxes and the like.

Machines of the indicated type usually feed the sheets from a stack in successive fashion to mechanism for performing some operation thereon, as for example, applying a coating of adhesive thereto, and then conveying the thus processed sheets to the articles for application thereto. In the operation of such machines, it is important to provide and to maintain the desired registry of the sheets fed from the stack with the articles to which such sheets are applied. The difiiculty of accomplishing this purpose arises in part from the fact that While the front edges of sheets for different sized articles are fed from the stack at the same constant rate of feed, the distance between the front edges of the sheets and the advancing ends of the articles of different sizes vary considerably. Thus, in the case of wraps to be applied to groups of boxes of different sizes, the height of a box of one size plus the amount of turnin of the wrap on such box, will require that the distance between the front edge of its wrap and the point of registry of the advancing end of such box with the wrap be substantially different than would be the case for another box of a different size. Further, such machines usually operate in an intermittent fashion, and the mechanisms heretofore employed in such machines to produce this intermittent action made it practically impossible to provide a positively controlled period for feeding and registering the sheet with the article to which it was to be applied. Such mechanisms also resulted in unduly long machines with consequent increased manufacturing costs and the necessity for additional space for the installation thereof. Due also to such mechanisms, as heretofore used by the art, the speeds of the machines were relatively low. The art has devised various means in order to overcome these disadvantages of the existing machines, but' so far as we are aware, such means have not proved entirely satisfactory for various reasons.

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved machine of the indicated type which will be free of the aforesaid disadvantages of prior known machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the indicated type with positively controlled means for feeding and registering the sheets with the articles to'which they are to be attached.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine in which the parts are actuated with a gradual, controlled acceleration without shock or. damage to the driving mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved machine of the indicated type which may be operated at higher speeds than prior known machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine which is relatively easy to manufacture and which is more compact than prior known machines of this type.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, as well '1 is a fragmentary elevational section of a machine embedying the invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing some of the gearing associated with the parts illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is'an enlarged side elevational view, partly in section, of the intermittent drive for the gearing mechanism; the view being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 4; Fig. 4 is an elevational view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig; 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed side elevational view of the means for controlling the registry of the article with a sheet; Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the parts shown in Pig. 5, but looking from the left of the latter figure; Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevational view of the parts for driving the conveyor to which the registered sheet and article are delivered; Fig. 8 is a plan view of a typical form of sheet to be applied to a hollow container, such as a cardboard box; Figs. 9-11 are elevational detailed views illustrating the manner in which a modified form of the container advancing means functions, and Fig. 12 is aside elevational view of the cam shown in Fig. 7.

For the purposes of illustration and explanation, the invention is shown in the drawings as incorporated in a well kHOWn' form of machine for applying sheets of paper to hollow containers, it being understood that the invention is not in any sense limited to such application, but maybe used to equal advantage in other machines for other purposes.

in a machine of the type illustrated, there is provided a runwaylfl'lea'ding to the point 11 at which application of the sheets, labels or the like, takes place. Suitable means are' associated with the runway 10 for properly advancing the articles, such as hollow containers 12 to such point 11 of application. The sheets which are to be adhered to the containers 12 are fed in successive fashion from the top of a stack 13 of such sheets. The means fortransferring the sheets in individual succession from the stack 13 comprises a suction head 14 pivotally connected at 15 with a member vertically movable in any well known Way relatively to the stack 13 to pick up the uppermost sheet thereof. Mechanism of any conventional type is provided for swinging the suction head 14 on the pivot 15 in a manner to transfer or deliver the sheet carried by such head to a pair of feeding rollers 16 and 17. Suction is developed in the suction head 14 through a tube 18 which is attached at its other end to a suitable valve connected to a source of suction, as for instance, a suction pump. Suction is provided to the head 14 by the valve in predetermined relationship to the cycle of movements of such ead by any suitable means. Preferably such means is so constructed and designed that suction is provided in the suction head 14 just prior to the time it engages thetopmost sheet in the stack 13 and during the transfer of the leading edge of such sheet to the feeding rollers 16 and 17.

The feed'roller 16 is journalled in the machine for ro tational movement about a fixed axis'19 (see Fig. 2) and is intermittently driven in a manner to be hereafter more fully explained. The cooperating roller'17 is an idler roller carried by a shaft 20 which is connected to mechanism hereinafter discussed more in detail and constructed and arranged to periodically move such shaft toward and away from roller 16, the arrangement being such that during the transfer of a sheet by the suction head 14 the roller 17 is spaced from the roller 16, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, so that the suctionhead 14 can insert the leading edge of. such sheet between rolls 16 and 17 which are stationary at that time. As soon as the leading edge of the sheet has been properly inserted between the spaced rollers 16 and 17, the latter is shifted toward the roller 16so that the'leadin'g edge ,of the/sheet becomes gripped between both rollers. At thisstage;

roller 16 is given its periodic rotation to cause the sheet to be fed into engagement with the surface of an adhesive applying roll 21 which is adjacent to a transfer roll 22 journalled to rotate in a supply of suitable adhesive material provided in a container 23. The space between rollers 21 and 22 may be adjusted in any suitable manner to deliver the proper thickness of the adhesive to roller 21. The sheet: engaging the adhesive coated surface of roller 21 is carried along thereby until it reaches a suitable pick-01f device 24 which detaches such sheet from roll 21 and deflects the same into engagement with the surface of a deflecting roll 25. The latter roll continues the travel of the sheet and brings its advancing or leading edge into surface engagement with the advancing end of the container'12 which projects at this time slightly beyond the delivery end of the runway 10. At the proper time a pair of segmented cylinders 26 and 27 are rotated so as to cause them to properly register the container 12 with the sheet which is to be attached thereto and to cooperate with roll 25 to apply a rolling pressure to the bottom of the container 12 and the sheet and thereby securely adhere the two'together. During this application of the sheet to the container the latter are moved together on to a conveyor 28 which advances them to additional means for further manipulation of the sheet on the container. At this time also, the roller 17 will have moved away from the feed roller 16 so that the sheet will be drawn from the rollers 21 and 25 by the container 12 which is being shifted over the roller 25 by the segments 26, 27. After the attachment of a sheet to a container 12 the above described cycle of operations will i be repeated, using a new sheet and a new container 12. As the stack 13 becomes depleted in the cyclic opera- .tion of the machine, suitable mechanism automatically comes into operation to maintain the top of the stack at a proper level for cooperation with the suction head 14.

The previously mentioned intermittent drive of the feed 'roller 16 is effected by means of a gear 30 secured to a main shaft 31 which rotates at a constant speed in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. As will'be seen more clearly from Fig. 2 of the drawings, gear 30 is provided with teeth on slightly 7 more than 180? of its periphery. The teeth of gear 30 mesh with a pinion 32 rotatably mounted on a shaft 33 and having a slot 34 (note Figs. 2 and 4) extending diametrically across the inner end of its hub 35. Secured to the pinion hub 35 is a gear 36 which meshes with an idler gear-37mounted for rotatable movement about a shaft 38 (note Fig. 2). Idler gear 37 is in mesh with a gear 39 secured to' the shaft 19 of thefeed roller 16 and with an idler gear 40 rotatably mounted on a shaft741. Idler gear 40 meshes with a gear 42 secured to the shaft 43 to which is secured the deflecting roll 25. T he gear 42 in turn is in' mesh with a gear 44 rotatably mounted on shaft 45. It'will be noted in Fig. 4 of the drawings, that the gear 36 and pinion 32 are maintained in position on shaft 33 by means of an annular slot 46 provided on the outer end of their common hub 35 and a pin 47 which engages such slot and which is mounted on a bracket 48 secured to the frame member 49 of the machine. Also mounted for rotatable movement on shaft 33 is a V hub or sleeve 50 having secured thereto intermediate the ends thereof, a clutch pinion 51 (note Fig. 4). The inner end of hub 50 is provided with a flange 52 provided .'with a pair of engaging pins 53adaptedto enter into the 1 slot 34'of hub 35 on opposite sides of the shaft 33. The

outer end of hub 50 is provided with a flange 54 between which and the pinion 51 are located the arms of a yoke 55 (note Figs. 3 and 4). The shank of the yoke 55 is secured to a vertically disposed hub56 rotatably mounted on a pin 57 supported at its ends by the bracket arms 58,

, 58. The hub 56 has also secured thereto an arm59 whose outer free end is provided with a cam roller 60 which en-j V, gages the cam surface of an open barrel cam 61 secured to the main driye shaftjl. The teeth of pinion751 are V 4 v in mesh with a gear segment 62 end of an'arm 63 secured at its lower end to a'hub 64 rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 65. The arm 63 forms part of a V-shaped lever whose other arm 66 is provided with a cam roller 67 which engages with a cam track 68 provided in one face of the gear 30.

It will be understood from the forgoing description of the arrangement of the intermittent drive that the: parts are so designed, that when the pinion 32 is adjacent to the blank sector of the intermittent gear 30, the pinion 32 will be at rest and accordingly, gears 36, 37, 39, 40,42

and 44 and feeding roll 16, deflecting roll and the sectors 26, 27 will be at rest. At this time, the barrel cam 61 will have actuated the yoke 55 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 4 of the drawings, so that the pins or pawls 53 on flange 52 will be engaged with the slot 34 of pinion 32. The clutch pinion 51 will be engaged with the central portion of the gear segment 62 and the cam roller 67 will be in a dwell position in the cam track 68, namely, be

tween the points on the cam track designated A and B in Fig. 3 of the drawings, so that the pinion 51 will beat rest. As the point B of the cam track 68 moves past the cam roller 67 and the point C thereof approaches such roller, in the clockwise rotationalmovementof gear 30, as viewed in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the lever'arm 63 will move the gear segment 62 in a clockwise direction,

as viewed in Fig. 3 of the drawings to accelerate the locked 'pinions 32 and 51 in 'a counter-clockwise direction from a condition of rest to a rotational speed at which the pinion 32 will have a pitch velocity equal to thatof the intermittent gear 30. At this time, a tooth on the pinion 32 becomes engaged between the first and sec- 0nd teeth on the gear 30 and simultaneously the barrel cam 61 will actuate the yoke 55 to withdraw the pins 53 from their interlocking engagement with the slot 34 0i; hub 35. At this time, the point designated C on the cam track 68 will have reached the cam roller 67.

During the acceleration of pinion 32, the chain of gears connecting the feeding roll 16,,deflecting roll 25 and the sectors 26, 27 to gear 36 will also be accelerated, so that rolls 16 and35 and sectors 26,27 will also be accelerated pinion 32, it will drive the latter and consequently the aforesaid parts at their desired velocities for proper operation of the machine. During the initial portion of the drive of gear 30, namely, during the period of advancement cf the cam track 68 with relation to the roller 67 from the point designated C thereon to the point designated D, the gear segment62 continues its clockwise movement but at such a rate as to decelerate the clutch pinion 51. When the point D on the cam track 68 reaches cam roller 67, clutch pinion 51 will have come to a stop. As the point 'D on cam track 68 moves past the cam roller 67 and-the point'designated E approaches such'roller during the driving action of gear 36, the cam track rotates the lever arm 63 and gear segment 62 all the way to the opposite side so that when the intermittent pinion 32 is approaching the blank segment of-gear 30, the position of the gear segment 62 is to the left of the clutch pinion "51, asviewed in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and the teeth on the right hand end of such segment are in engagement with the pinion 51. The clutch pinion 51 thus recovers while the main gear 30 is driving the intermittent or engaging pinion 32 in the period indicated by thepoints D and E on the cam track 68.

As the point B of cam track 68 moves past the cam roller 67 and the point designated .F thereon approaches such the pinion 32 is approaching the blank portion of the main 7 gear 30. Just as the pinion'32 is leaving the teeth of the main gear 30, namely, as the point designated F on the cam track 68 reaches'the cam roller 67, the barrel cam 61 actu- -..:&tea the yoke 55 tocausethe pins 53 toagainengage the provided on the upper slot 34 in the hub 35. When the pinion 32 le'aves-theteeth of the gear 30 and enters the blank segment of the latter, the point P on cam track 68 will bemoving past the cam roller 67, and the point A will be approaching such roller, thus causing the gear segment 62 to move to decelerate the pinion 51- and bring it to a stop, with the gear segment 62 ending such movement in the center of its stroke, the original starting point. As the pinion 51is thus decelerated by the gear segment 62, pinion 32 and consequently the train of gears connected to gear 36 and rolls 16 and 25 and segments 26 and 27 will be rapidly decelerated from their operating velocities and brought to a stop,-thus ending one cycle of operation of the machine.

It is believed that it will be understood from the foregoing description, that by means of the aforesaid mechanism there is provided a gradual, controlled acceleration and deceleration of the driving parts without any possibility of shock or jolting to the gears and Without any danger of darnage to the latter. The parts are under positive' engagement at all times and their construction and arrangement make it possible to run them at substantially higher speeds than is possible of attainment with conventional types of intermittent gearing devices. The parts are so designed that the pinion 32 starts its driven engage rnent with the main gear 30 as soon as the feed roll 17 is moved into clamping position with feed roll' 16. The movement of feed roll 17 towards the feed roll 16 is effected by journalling the shaft 24) of feed'roll 17 on a lever 70 secured to a rock shaft 71 suitably supported on the frame of the machine. The other arm 72 of lever 70 is in engagement with a roller 73 provided on an arm 74 of a lever mounted on shaft 75; the other arm 76 of such lever being connected to the upper end of a link 77. The-link '77 is connected to a lever (not shown) carrying a cam :roller in rolling engagement with a cam mounted on shaft J31. It will thus be understood that as the cam recipro- =cates link 77 thereby rocking the arms 74, 76, the lever carrying the shaft 20 of roll 17 will be rocked about shaft "71. In the downward movement of the roller 73 on lever :arm 72, the shaft 20 and consequently roll 17 will be lifted. In the upward movement of the roller 73, the arm 70 and consequently shaft 26 and feed roll 17 will drop of their own weight so that the latter will move into clamping-engagement with feed roll 16. The cam is so designed that the roller 73 will be depressed to raise the roll 17 when a sheet 96 has been adhesively connected to a contamer-12 and such roller 73 will be raised to cause roll 17 to clamp with roll 16 after the forward or leading edge has been inserted by the suction device 14 between such rollers intheir spaced condition.

The precise registry of a sheet so fed from the stack. 13

. with the container 12 is accomplished by the mechanism now to be explained. As previously mentioned, the segments 26, 27 are initially accelerated in a downward direction through the chain of gearing connecting gear 44 with clutch pinion 51 and gear segment 62, then driven at a constant rotational speed by the driving action on the main gear 30 on pinion 32, and finally decelerated by the connection of gear 44 with clutch pinion 51 and the gear segment 62. The segments or shoes 26, 27 coact together to advance the article 12in the operations of the machine and the arm of one of such shoes, shoe 26, is keyed to the shaft 45, while the other shoe 27 is providedwith a split hub 82 which is adjustably clamped to shaft 45; Thus I by moving shoe 27 relative to shoe 26 about shaft 45, the

are or circumferential length defined by such combined shoes can be shortened or lengthened to take care of the inside length of different sized containers. After each such adjustment, the shoe 27 is secured in position on shaft 45 by tightening the bolt or clamping screw 83 (note Figs. and 6). The length of the arc defined by shoes26, 27 is preferably such that it is slightly less than the inside length of the container 12 being fed by such shoes to allow for clearance.

Gear 44 is rotatably mounted on shaft 45 betweena frame member 85 that rotatably supports one end of such shaft and a rotatably mounted sleeve 86 which'is maintained in position on shaft 45 by the hub 84 of gear 44 and a hub 81 that is keyed to such shaft. The sleeve 86is linked to shaft 45 through an arm 87 which is mounted thereon and whose reduced threaded end extends through an arcuate slot 88 provided onthe flange 89 of the hub 81. The threaded end of arm 87 is secured to flange 89 by means of a nut 90 and an associated washer. Thus, the sleeve 86 through arm"87, nut 90, flange 89 and the. keyed hub 81 is connectedto shaft 45. Disposed in opposed relation to arm 87 on sleeve 86 is a hub 91 which carries an adjusting screw 92 that is mounted for rotatable movement in a fixed position on yoke 91. Secured to spoke 44 of gear 44 (note Fig. 5) is a U-shaped bracket whose legssupport the outer ends of a pin 79. Intermediate the legs of bracket 80, the pin 79 is flattened and is provided with a screw thread which is in threaded engagement with the outer end of adjusting screw 92. It will thus be seen that the gear 44 is connected to sleeve 86 through bracket 80, pin 79, adjusting screw 92 and yoke 91, and that through sleeve 86, arm 87, flange 89 andhub 81, such gear is connected toshaft 45. It will therefore be understood that by loosening nut 90, so that the reduced endof arm 87 can move in slot 88 and by turning hub 81, shaft 45' can be turned with relation to gear 44 which is held by the mating gears connecting the same to gear 36. In this manner a relatively large adjustment of the shoes 26', 27 with relation to gear 44 may be made. After such adjustment and the tightening of nut so that sleeve 86 is again locked with hub 81, a more minute adjustment of shaft 45 and consequently shoes 26, 27 relative to gear 44 may be made by manually manipulating adjusting screw 92. The amount of adjustment of shaft 45 and shoes 26', 27 relative to gear 44 may be controlled by a scale 93 provided on hub 81 and an indicator 94 provided on bracket 80 (note Fig. 5 of the drawings).

It will be understood from the foregoing description of the parts related to the segments 26 and 27, that the latter may be' adjusted relative to the intermittent drive to precisely and positively register a particular container 12 with the sheetadvanced from the stack 13' to'be adhered thereto, if the machine during its operation should be out of adjustment or ifthe particular container 12' is different in size from the last container handled by the machine. A large adjustment may be made by loosening nut 96 and turning hub 81, while a small adjustment may be made by manipulating the adjustment screw 92. The scale 93 on hub 81 is so calibrated and arranged and the indicator 94 is so located on bracket 89, that precise adjustments for the position at which the container 12 is to be registered with the sheet being fed, can be readily andspeedily made.

It will be observed from Figs. 1 and Z of the drawings, that the'leading edges of the sheets in the stack are always up against a guide member 95 so that the leading edges of such sheets are always at a fixed position with relation to the suction device 14 and the rolls 16, 17, and 25 as they are being fed thereby, eventhough the size of the sheets in any particular stack for the articles to be wrapped vary considerably depending upon the size of the articles 12. It will be noted from Fig. 8 of the drawings which shows a wrap 96 of customary form, that the wrap is composed of a central portion 97 (indicated in dotted outline) with which the bottom of the container 12 is to register and four flaps which areto be adhered to the side edges of such container and having sufficient length so that the outer edge portions thereof can be turned over the upper edges of the cona driver 110 keyed to shaft 101.

. a 7 V drawings, is determined by. theldepth of the container 12 to which itis to be attached plus the amount of turn-, in or overlap. .This distance will of course be different for diflfe'rent sized containers. As the leading edges of all wraps 96 regardless of their size, will arrive at the same given time at the point" designated 11 in Fig. 1 of the drawings, at which point the forward end of the bottom of the container 12 is brought into contact with the wrap, it is necessary to'vary the positionof the leading edge of the combined shoe composed of the segments 26, 27 with-relation to the intermittent gearing, so that suchshoe will bring the advancing edge of the container bottom into contact with. the wrap 96 at the proper distance a from the advancing edge of such Wrap. This is accomplished in the manner previously described by adjustment .of the hub'81 and/or the adjusting screw 92. The scale 93 on flange 89 (note Fig. is so calibrated and the segment 26 is so situated on shaft 45 that when the indicator reading is zero, the leading end of the container 12 will be advanced by the segments 26, 27 to arrive at the point 11 simultaneously with the leading edgeof the advancing sheet 96. The scale 93 is calibrated in inches and parts thereof, so that if in a given wrap 96 the distance a is measured to be three inches, it is needed only to loosen the nut 90 and turn the hub 81 until the indicator 94 points to 3 on the scale. Since the hub 81 is keyed to the shaft 45 and the shoe segments 26, 27 are fastened, to such shaft, the leading edge of shoe 26 is now in proper position to bring the leading end of the container 12 to the point 11 when the leading or advancing edge 98 of the wrap has advanced three inches (the distance a) beyond such point 11. The bottom of the container 12 will therefore be adhered to the central portion 97 of the wrap. If finer adjustments are necessary to obtain a precise registration of the container with the wrap, the adjustment screw 92 isutilized. w The adhered container and wrap are advanced by the combined action of the shoe segments 26, 27 and the roll 25, as has been described, on to the conveyor 28. The conveyor 28 is intermittently driven, but not by the previously described intermittent gearing. As is shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the driving roller 100 of the conveyor 28 1(note also Figs. 1 and 2), is mounted on a shaft 101 rotatably supported by the frame member 49 and a bearing 102 provided on a bracket 103, which is carried by the frame member 49. Rotatably mounted on shaft 101 is a clutch member 104 provided with a sprocket wheel 105 which is connected by a chain 106 to a sprocket wheel 107 keyed to the constantly rotating main drive shaft 31. Associated with clutch member 104 is a cooperating clutch member 108 slidably mounted on shaft 101 and provided on its outer end with a slot with which is engaged the rib or projection 109 of The clutch member 108 is provided with an annular groove 111 which serves as a track for a roller mounted on the upper end of a rocking lever 112. The lever 112 is mounted for pivotal movement about a shaft 113 rotatably supported by the bearing bracket 103 and is provided at its lower end with a cam roller 114 which engageswith a cam 115 connected to the main drive shaft 31. The cam roller 114 is maintained in contact with cam 115 by means of a spring 116 secured at one end to the lever 112 and at its .other end to the bearing bracket 103.

It will be understood from the foregoing, that the, continuously turning shaft 31 and sprocket 107, through chain 106 and sprocket 105, continuously rotate clutch member- 104 on shaft 101. When lever 112 is actuated by cam 115 to bring the ratchet teeth of clutch member" into driving relation with shaft 101 to drive the conveyor 7 distance for clearance.

58 lutionof such cam, is made when the leading edge of one sheet 96;reaches the forward edge 117 of the plate 118 located between the rolls and 100 (seeFig. 1) and is maintained until the belt has traveled a predetermined 'distance approximately equal to the length; of the largest sheet such cam is adjusted for, plus a small During this period, a container 12 with its adhered sheet 96 will have been advanced on to the conveyor28. It will thus be seen that by so starting the conveyor 28 at the last possible moment,

7 the distance at which the belt moves during each cycle of the machine, is shortened to a minimum and as a consequence, the necessary overall length of the machine is considerably shortened. Also by driving the belt 28 from the shaft31 independently of the intermittent gearing drive, the power is divided, thus lessening the stress on the intermittent gearing drive and enabling a more accurate driving relation of the latter over prolonged periods of operation. The cam 115 is adjustable to feed wraps of different lengths. As is shown more clearly in Fig. 12 of the drawings, the raised portion of the cam track which causes the disengagement of clutch members 104 and 108, is composed of two arcuatelyshaped segments 120, 121, having reduced end portions 120 and 121, respectively, which are arranged side-byside, and whose combined width is the same as the width of segments 120 or 121. The advancing end of segment 121 is beveled to enable the cam roller 114.to ride up on such segment and the trailing end of segment 120 is beveled to enable the roller 114 to ride down from such segment on to the track portion 122 of the' cam. Each segment is provided with a bolt 123 which extends through an arcuately-shaped slot 124 in the cam and is provided on its outer end with a nut and roll 100., The cam is so constructed that this driv- I ing connection which is for a portion only of one'revO- 'thecam. V the nuts on bolts 123, the segments 120, 121 can be 12', as shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings.

operation of shoe 26 shoe or segment 27' which is closer to the axisof shaft 45 than the former, and which washer by which-the segment is adjustably secured to It will thus be understood, that by loosening adjusted to vary the length of the raised portion of the cam track and thereby vary the period during whi'ch the clutch members 104 and 108 are separated during each revolution of shaft 31. Inthis manner, the period during which the conveyor 28 is' advanced during each 6 cyclemay be controlled to vary the distance of; travel of such belt to take care of wraps of varying lengths.

When it is desired'to apply sheets to containers of very small size, for example,'conta'iners having a length less than the distance between point 11 and the forward edge 117 of plate 118 (note Figul), it is preferred that the segments 26, 27 be replaced by the segments 26', 27' shown in Figs. 9-11, of the drawings. 'In this construction segment 26 is keyed to the shaft 45 'in'the same manner as segment 26, and segment 27 is adjustably clamped to shaft 45 in the same manner as segment 27. Segment 26 is of a size determined by the interior length of the container 12' and functions to accomplish in a similar manner the operation performed by the previously explained combined action of both segments 26, 27. Thus, the segment or shoe 26' will initially in-' sert its toe into the interior of the container 12' as shown in Fig. 9, at which timethe forward edge of the sheet 96' is approaching the opening between runway 10 and plate 118, then by coaction with the roll 25 will adhere the sheet 96' to the bottom of the container 12'.

with arolling advancing pressure, as shownin Fig. 10 of the drawings, and then will pass out of the'container During this is spaced from shoe 26, will advance, so that the toe thereof engages the following end wall of the container 12 while the shoe 26 is'applyin'g its rolling pressure to the container 12' and sheet 96, as shown in Fig. 10 A of the drawings. After shoe26' passes out of the container 12', shoe 27 through its engagement with the following end wall of such container, will continue to push the container over the plate 118 and on to the belt 28, as shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings, after which it too will disengage from the container 12'. Thus, by this construction, containers of very small size may have sheets adhered to in the machine without any danger of their becoming stalled on the plate 118 between the roller 25 and the conveyor 28.

While we have hereinabove described and illustrated in the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for supporting a stack of sheets with their leading edges in a fixed position in the stack, means for feeding successive sheets from the stack so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a fixed, predetermined interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, and including means for varying the approaching relation of an article to a sheet so as to vary the position of initial engagement of such article surface with the surface of such sheet at said place of registry.

2. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including means being operative at such place of registry to vary the approaching relation of an article to a sheet so as to vary the position of initial engagement of such article surface with the surface of such sheet at said place of registry.

3. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets of different dimensions than a given surface of articles to which such sheets are to be adhered so that the leading edges of such sheets will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding the articles to such place of registry to progressively attach the given surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means being operative at such place of registry to vary the approaching relation of an article to a sheet so as to vary the position of initial engagement of such given article surface with the surface of such sheet at said place of registry.

4. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets of larger dimensions than a given surface of articles to which such sheets are to be adhered so that the leading edges of such sheets will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding the articles to such place of registry to progressively attach the given surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means being operative at such place of registry to vary the approaching relation of an article to a sheet so as to vary the position that the leading edge of a sheet shall project in advance of such given article surface during the initial engagement of the two at said place of registry.

5. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including means having a leading edge constructed and arranged to engage an article to advance the same forwardly to 10 said place of registry, and means operative to vary the position at which the leading edge of said advancing means will engage the articie and thereby vary the position at which such article surface will initially engage with the surface of said sheet at said place of registry.

6. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including a plurality of shoes whose combined peripheral surfaces define a predetermined linear measure and the leading edge of one of said shoes being arranged to engage an article to start the advancement of the same forwardly to said place of registry, at least one of said shoes being adjustable relative to the other to vary the combined linear measure defined by said shoes, and means operative to vary the position at which such leading edge thereof will engage the article and thereby vary the position at which such article surface will initially engage with the surface of said sheet at said place of registry.

7. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry, and means for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said' last mentioned means including a pair of spaced feeding elements for moving the article over different portions of its path of feed to and beyond said place of registry and constructed and arranged so that one of said elements engages a forward portion of an article and the other element engages a rear portion of such article in the feed of the latter, the first mentioned of such elements engaging the article before the other element and the latter continuing its engagement with the article after the first mentioned element has been removed therefrom.

S. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry, and means for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including a pair of shoes arranged in spaced relation for movement about a common axis, the peripheral surface of the first of said shoes being spaced from such axis a distance greater than the distanceof the peripheral surface of the following shoe, and such first shoe being arranged to engage a forward portion of an article and said following shoe being arranged to engage a rear portion of such article in the forward feed of the article.

9. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including rotatably mounted means having a leading edge constructed and arranged to engage an article to advance the same forwardly to said place of registry, driving means for said rotatable means, and means connecting said driving means to said rotatable means, said last mentioned means being operable to adjust the connection of said driving means and rotatable means to vary the position at which such leading edge will engage the article and thereby vary the position at which such article surface will initially engage with the surface of said sheet at said place of registry.

10. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface 11 thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including rotatably mounted means having a leading edge constructed and arranged to engage an article to advance the same forwardly to said place of registry, driving means for said rotatable means comprising a rotatable gear, and means drivingly connecting said'gear to said rotatable means, said last mentioned means being operable to adjust the position of said rotatable means relative to said gear to vary the position at which such leading edge will'engage the article and thereby vary the position at which such article surface will initially engage with the surface of said sheet at said place of registry.

11. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including an article advancing member mounted on a shaft, driving means including a gear rotatably mounted on said shaft, calibrating means secured to said shaft and means detachably connecting said gear to said calibrating means, said calibrating means and connecting means being operable to adjust the position of said advancing member relative to said gear and thereby vary the position at which said advancing member will cause such article surface to engage with the surface of said sheet at said place of registry. V

12. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets so that their leading edges will arrive at a place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval of time, irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, and means for successively feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, said last mentioned means including an article advancing member mounted on a shaft,

driving means including a gear rotatably'mounted on said shaft, a member having an indicator connected to said gear, calibrating means secured to said shaft and having a scale operatively associated with said indicator, an adjustment member carried by said calibrating means and adjustably connected to said indicator member, and means detachably connecting said gear to said calibrating means, said calibrating and connecting means being operable to adjust the position of said advancing member relative to said gear and thereby vary'the position at which said advancing member will cause such article surface to engage with the surface of said sheet at, said place of registry.

13. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to' a place of registry includlng a roll located at said place of registry, means including an article engaging member for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, and means for intermittently operating said article and sheet feeding means to apply intermittent movement to said roll and said article engaging member, said intermittent means including a gear drivingly connected to said roll and article engaging member, means for intermittently driving said gear at an operating velocity for a predetermined period, means for accelerating said gear froma position of rest prior to its driving connection with said intermittent driving means, and for decelerating said gear to a posi-' tion of rest after said intermittent driving means has finished its driving action, whereby said roll and said -article engaging means, in a cycle of movement of said gear, will be accelerated from a position of rest to an operating velocity, and then after said predetermined pe-" 'riod decelerated to a condition of rest.

cluding an article engaging member for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, and means for intermittentgaging member, said intermittent means including driven means drivingly connected to said roll and article engaging member, means for intermittently driving said driven means at an operating velocity for a portion of each cycle of the machine, second driving means for said driven means including .a driven member, and means constructed and arranged to initially accelerate said driven member from a position of rest as said intermittent driving means is finishing its cyclic drive of said driven means, then to decelerate said driven member to bring it to a position of rest after said intermittent driving means has finished its cyclic drive of said driven means, and finally to accelerate said driven member as said intermittent means is readyto start its next driving cycle of said driven means, and means for operatively connecting said driven member to said driven means during its initial acceleration and for maintaining such connection during the deceleration, dwell and second acceleration of said driven member, whereby said roll and article engaging means in a cycle of movement of said driven means will be accelerated from a condition of rest to an operating velocity and then decelerated' to a condition of rest, said connecting means being operative to disconnect said driven member from said driven means during the second acceleration of the former.

15. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry ingaging member, said intermittent means including a gear drivingly connectedto said-roll and article engaging member, a mutilated gear for intermittently driving said gear at an operating velocity for a portion of each cycle'of the machine, second driving means for said gear including a driven gear mounted for. rotational movement about the same axis as said gear, and means constructed and arranged to initially accelerate said driven gear from a position of rest as said mutilated gear 'is finishing its cyclic drive of said gear, then to decelcrate said driven gear to bring it to a position of rest after said mutilated gear has finished its cyclic drive of said gear, and finally to accelerate said driven gear as said mutilated gear is ready to start its next driving cycle of said gear, and clutch means operative to 'connect said driven gear to said gear during the formers initial acceleration and to maintain such connection during the deceleration, dwell and second acceleration of said driven gear, whereby said roll and article engaging means in a cycle of movement of said gear will be accelerated from a condition of rest to an operating velocity and then decelerated to a condition of rest, said clutch means being operative to disconnect said gear and driven gear during the second acceleration of the latter.

16. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry including a roll located at said place of registry, meansincluding an article engaging member for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a. surface thereof to such sheets, and means for intermittently operating said article and sheet feeding means to apply intermittent movement to said roll and said article enof the machine, second drivingtmeans for said gear inj 13 cluding a driven gear mounted for rotational movement about the same axis as said gear, a lever having a'gear segment in mesh with said driven gear, and cam means connected to said lever and operative to cause said gear segment to initially accelerate said driven gear from a position of rest as said mutilated gear is finishing its cyclic drive of said gear, then to decelerate said driven gear to bring it to a position of rest after said mutilated gear has finished its cyclic drive of said gear, and finally to accelerate said driven gear as said mutilated gear is ready to start its next driving cycle of said gear, and clutch means. operative to connect said driven gear to said gear during the formers initial acceleration and to maintain such connection during the deceleration, dwell and second acceleration of said driven gear, whereby said roll and article engaging means in a cycle of movement of said gear will be accelerated from a condition of rest to an operating velocity and then decelerated to a condition of rest, said clutch means being operative to disconnect said gear and driven gear during the second acceleration of the latter.

17. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry including a roll located at said place of registry, means including an article engaging member for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, and means for intermittently operating said article and sheet feeding means to apply intermittent movement to said roll and said article engaging member, said intermittent means including a gear drivingly connected to said roll and article engaging member, a mutilated gear for intermittently driving said gear at an operating velocity for a portion of each cycle of the machine, second driving means for said gear including a driven gear mounted for rotational movement about the same axis as said gear, a lever having a gear segment in mesh with said driven gear and carrying a cam roller, said mutilated gear being provided with a cam track with which said cam roller is engaged and designed to cause said gear segment to initially accelerate said driven gear from a position of rest as said mutilated gear is finishing its cyclic drive of said gear, then to decelerate said driven gear to bring it to a position of rest after said mutilated gear has finished its cyclic drive of said gear, and finally to accelerate said driven gear as said mutilated gear is ready to start its next driving cycle of said gear, and clutch means operative to connect said driven gear to said gear during the formers initial acceleration and to maintain such connection during the deceleration, dwell and second acceleration of said driven gear, whereby said roll and article engaging means in a cycle of movement of said gear will be accelerated from a condition of rest to an operating velocity and then decelerated to a condition of rest, said clutch means being operative to disconnect said gear and driven gear during the second acceleration of the latter.

18. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry, means for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, a conveyor, said article feeding means being constructed and arranged to deliver the article with a sheet attached thereto to said conveyor, means for intermittently operating said article and sheet feeding means to initiate the feed of an article and sheet into registered relation and toward said conveyor, and means for intermittently driving said conveyor, said last mentioned means including control means operable to cause said driving means to start the movement of said conveyor subsequent to the start of an intermittent operation of said article and sheet feeding means and approximately when the leading end of the sheet is moving on to such conveyor, said control means being operable to stop the movement of said conveyor prior tothe deIivery of the leading end of the following sheet to such conveyor.

' '19. In a machine for applying sheets to'articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry, means for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, a conveyor, said article feeding means being constructed and arranged to deliver the article, with a sheet attached thereto to said conveyor, a drive shaft, means connected to said shaft for intermittently operating said sheet feeding means to deliver the leading edges of successive sheets at such place of registry in a predetermined, fixed interval' of time irrespective of the lengths of such sheets, means connected" to said shaft for intermittently operating said article feeding means and including means for varying the approaching relation of an article to a sheet so as to vary the position of initial engagement of such article with the surface ofa sheet'at said place of registry, and means connected to said shaft for intermittently driving said conveyor, said last mentioned means including control means operable to cause'said driving means to start the movement of said conveyor subsequent to the start of an intermittent operation of said article and sheet feeding means and approximately when the leading end of the sheet is moving on to such conveyor, said control means being operable to stop the movement of said conveyor prior to the delivery of the leadingend of the following sheet to' such conveyor.

20. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry, means for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, a conveyor, said article feeding means being constructed and arranged to deliver the article with a sheet attached thereto to said conveyor, means for intermittently operating said article and sheet feeding means, and means for intermittently driving said conveyor, said last mentioned means including control means operable to cause said driving means to start the movement of said conveyor subsequent to the start of an intermittent operation of said article and sheet feeding means and approxi mately when the leading end of the sheet is moving on to such conveyor, said control means being operable to stop the movement of said conveyor prior to the delivery of the leading end of the following sheet to such conveyor, and said last mentioned means including adjustable means for varying the distance of travel of such conveyor during its intermittent movement.

21. In a machine for applying sheets to articles, means for successively feeding sheets to a place of registry, means for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, a conveyor, said article feeding means being constructed and arranged to deliver the article with a sheet attached thereto to said conveyor, means for intermittently operating said article and sheet feeding means, and means for intermittently driving said conveyor, said last mentioned means including control means operable to cause said driving means to start the movement of said conveyor subsequent to the start of an intermittent operation of said article and sheet feeding means and approximately when the leading end of the sheet is moving on to such conveyor, said control means being operable to stop the movement of said conveyor prior to the delivery of the leading end of the following sheet to such conveyor, and said last mentioned means including adjustable means for varying the distance of travel of such conveyor during its intermittent movement, said adjustable means comprising a cam for actuating said conveyor driving means, a plurality of arcuately-shaped segments slidably adjustable lengthwise relative to each other and constructed to provide a variable length portion of the cam track on such cam and means for adjustably connecting said segments to said cam.

a -1-5 22. In a machine for applying sheets-to articles, means for successivelyfeeding sheets to a place of registry including a roll located at said place offregistry, means including an article engaging member for feeding articles to such place of registry to progressively attach a surface thereof to such sheets, and means for intermittently operating said article andsheet feeding means to apply intermittent movementto said roll and said article engaging member, said intermittent means including a gear drivingly connected .to said roll and article engaging member, a constantly rotating mutilated gear for intermittently driving said gear at. an operating velocity for a portion of each cycle of the machine, second driving means for said gear including a pinion mounted for rotatable movement about the same axis as said gear, an

oscillatably mounted V-shaped lever having a gear segment' on one arm and having a cam roller on its other arm, said gear segment being in mesh with said pinion and said cam roller engaging a cam track provided on said mutilated gear, such cam track being designed to cause said gear segment to oscillateso as to initially accelerate said pinion from a position of rest as said mutilated gear is finishing its cyclic drive of said gear, then to decelerate said pinion to bring it to a position of rest after said mutilated gear has .finished its cyclic drive of said. gear, then to cause said pinion to dwell as the blank portion of said mutilated gear moves past said gear, and finally to accelerate said pinion as said mutilated gear is ready to start its next driving cycle of said gear, locking means connected to said gear and said pinion and detachably interengageable to connect said pinion in driving relation to said gear and means operative to interengage said locking means to connect said pinion to said gear during the'formers initial acceleration and to maintain such interengagement during the deceleration, dwell and second acceleration of said pinion, whereby said roll and article engaging means in 23. In'a machine for applying'sheets to articles, means including an article engaging member for imparting movement to an article, means including a roll located at the place of registry of the sheets and articles for feeding a sheet to such article to cause progressive union of such sheet with said article, and drive means controlling said article moving means and said sheet feeding means and constructed and arranged to move such means including said article engaging member andisaid roll in a relatively short portion of each cycle of their movement with a gradually accelerated motion from a position of rest, then to drive them at a relatively constant velocity during the feed of the'article and the sheet,

and then to bring such'means to a stop by a gradual decelerating motion.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,341,954 Weightman et a1. June 1, 1920 2,145,682 Bergstein Jan. 31, 1939 2,158,280 Fleischer May 16, 1939 2,214,096 Weiss Sept. 10,- 1940 2,449,852 Jones Sept. 21, 1948 2,483,458 Fischer et a1. Oct. 4, 1949 2,605,920 Hammel Aug. 5, 1952 2,608,407 Briechle Aug. 26, 1952 2,667,987 Jackson Feb. 2, 1954 2,681,743 Phin et al. June 22, 1954 

